Being a Mom in Tech

Estella González Madison

Orbital Biannual 2015

Hi!

I'm a Lead Software Engineer at Blurb. I focus on front-end development and performance.

I'm a new mom in tech.

More about me

• I co-founded a Women Who Code NYC network in 2013
• Postponed having children to advance my career
• Was promoted when I was 6 months pregnant

The challenges

Equality & balance are hard to achieve

… even in a great partnership

• Lack of paternity leave
• Breastfeeding
• Societal expectations

The false notion of workspace flexibility

Many companies, especially startups, have flexible work options, but women are penalized more than men

The Unspoken Stigma of Workspace Flexibilty, The New York Times

Pumping is hard

• Not all workplaces/conferences provide a clean, private environment even though it's required by law
• It's hard to recover momentum when you've been working
• Especially challenging when you need to travel

Meetups & conferences

• Apparently meetups & babies don't mix
• Can only attend a meetup every few weeks
• Conferences don't always offer nursing rooms or childcare
• Traveling to conferences is out of the question the first year [for me]

Difficult to stay on top of industry news, practices, and trends

Interviewing

• The traditional whiteboard interview has always been a challenge, but even more so now
• Some interviews require assignments as part of the screening process
• I do not mention that I have a child
• Feeling that I'm not on top of the latest best practices, interviews are daunting and intimidating
• There's always the fear that I'll lose the flexibility and work-life balance I have now

Work-life balance

Overall, feel good about my job, but not so positive about community involvement and helping others

Some tips

Things not to say to a new mom

• How was your time off?
• Sleep when your baby sleeps.
• You look tired.
• Will she go to preschool?
• When are you having another one?
• Are you getting any sleep?

Make life a little easier for the new mom on your team

• Run meeting schedules by her first if possible to avoid interfering with her pumping schedule
• Avoid scheduling meetings late in the day or after normal business hours
• Make team outings during the day instead of evening hours

Thanks for listening

@chicagoing